Whether you're a Republican, Democrat, Independent or somewhere in between, we've got you covered all week.

Here's a list of what you should know, whether you'll be heading to the polls, wondering why this year's midterms matter or seeking results Tuesday night and beyond.

What's at stake

Before anything, it's important to know why your vote matters.

This year's midterm elections won't just decide who takes control of the House or Senate. The midterms are seen in large part as a referendum of President Donald Trump, whose two years as president have been tainted with controversy and scandal.

Members of the House of Representatives are elected to two-year terms, meaning all 435 seats are to be decided. The Senate is a different story, where lawmakers are elected for six-year terms; about a third stand for re-election every two years.

Energetic Democrats are hoping to gain at least some control in Congress and many believe they have a good chance of taking over the House. Polls suggest it's likely that Republicans retain their majority in the Senate.

If Democrats take control of the House or Senate, they would have subpoena and investigative powers. Democrats would head committees throughout Congress and have the authority to look into many of the controversial issues they've railed against since Trump took office, including the president's tax returns.

IDs, voter registration and other tidbits

Before you head to the polls, there are a few things you should research beforehand.

You should also make sure to do your homework on the candidates and the issues on the ballot. BallotReady has sample ballots races nationwide so you can see what it will look like and research the issues and candidates.

Another key thing to know is what sort of identification you need to cast a ballot. Thirty-four states have laws requiring a person show some manner of identification before voting. Seven of those, Tennessee, Kansas, Wisconsin, Mississippi, Georgia, Virginia and Indiana, require a photo ID.

If you aren't sure whether your state requires any sort of identification, you can check here.

Before heading to the polls, it's also a good idea to verify your voter registration. Many states clean up their voter rolls to purge inactive voters or those who have moved out of state.

An easy way to check is by going to Vote.org. Just plug in your address and the site will show you the location of your polling place and the times it's open. The website also lists each state's voting website.

Where to find results

Results could come fast or take hours, days or weeks. Each polling station sends in its results to a county administrator. From there, the results go to the state agency charged with verifying results, in many states, it's the Secretary of State.

If you don't want to find your state agency and look for results there, local news organizations will be monitoring the races in your communities.

Shameless plug: You can also check usatoday.com/elections for election results. We have a team of reporters watching races nationwide and helping you understand the results.

Rudy Rangel, left, and Bryan Mulloy help themselves to pizza while waiting in line to vote at the Tempe History Museum in Ariz. Nov. 6, 2018. An anonymous person bought pizza for people in line. Michael Chow, The Arizona Republic via USA TODAY Network

Lisa Jaeger, left, and Alicia Dallstream, both from Tempe, help each other fill out their early ballots outside a polling station at the Tempe History Museum in Ariz. Nov. 6, 2018. Michael Chow, The Arizona Republic via USA TODAY Network

Arizona State University student Alex Riordan, left, and other ASU students wait in line for up to two and half hours to vote at the polling place at ASU campus in Tempe, Ariz., on Election Day for the midterms on Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018. Riordan is a first time voter. David Wallace, The Arizona Republic via USA TODAY Network

Georgia democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams is greeted by Rev. Jesse Jackson as she arrives at the Busy Bee Cafe in Atlanta in the final hours of campaigning on election day. JACK GRUBER, USA TODAY

Video crews and photographers crowd around congressional candidate Katie Hill as she casts her ballot at the Shepherd Of The Hills Church in Agua Dulce, Calif. Hill is the Democratic candidate for the 25th congressional district in California and is in a tight race with Republican incumbent Steve Knight. ROBERT HANASHIRO, USA TODAY

Lela Jamison, 53, of Detroit looks over her ballot as she stands in line waiting to vote at Bow Elementary School which has multiple precincts voting on Michigan midterm elections in Detroit on Tuesday. Kimberly P. Mitchell/Detroit Free Press

Congressional candidate Katie Hill hugs Susan Given, an election volunteer, at a get out the vote event in Palmdale, Calif. Hill is the Democratic candidate for the 25th congressional district in California and is in a tossup race against Republican incumbent Steve Knight. Robert Hanashiro/USA TODAY

Congressional candidate Katie Hill talks to campaign volunteers at a get out the vote event in Palmdale, Calif. on Tuesday. Her race against incumbent Steve Knight is one of several in California that the Democratic Party sees as important to taking back the House of a Representatives. Robert Hanashiro/USA TODAY

Sen. Tom Carper shows his wife Martha his drivers license that he forgot in the car and had to go back to get before he could cast his midterm votes at P.S. DuPont Middle School, Tuesday, in Wilmington, Del. Jennifer Corbett/The News Journal

Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester talks with a young child after she cast her own votes for the midterm election on Tuesday morning at the Brandywine Hundred Fire Company in Wilmington, Del. Jennifer Corbett/The News Journal

Elect, adp, 1 of 5- Voters turnout for the mid-term elections to cast the their ballots on Tuesday, at the Community Center Gym in the City of Cedarburg, Minn. Angela Peterson/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Scotty Probert, a precinct inspector inside the Indianapolis Fire Department's Station 1, walks to show a voter the issues and candidates on the ballot on Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018. "In the May election we only had 37 votes total, all day here," said Probert. As of 11:15 a.m., the precinct had 66 votes. Mykal McEldowney/IndyStar

Poll official Betty Hammond, 79, places a "I Voted" sticker on Bernadette Sadler, 53, after she cast her vote in the 2018 Michigan midterm elections at Bow Elementary in Detroit. Sadler, who is recovering from lung cancer surgery, says nothing would have kept her from voting today. Kimberly P. Mitchell, Detroit Free Press

Voters wait in line to vote at Pittman Park Recreation center in Atlanta on Nov. 6, 2018 where some voters waited 3-4 hours due to only having three voting machines at the voting location. Jack Gruber, USA TODAY

U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke, who is running to unseat Sen. Ted Cruz, walked from his Sunset Heights home in El Paso to vote at the El Paso Community College Rio Grande Campus. Mark Lambie, USA TODAY NETWORK

Voters including Griselda Sanchez (L) and Evelyn Franco (2L) are serenaded by mariachis at the Lafayette Park Gymnasium polling station as they wait in line to vote in the 2018 midterm general election in Los Angeles on Nov. 6, 2018. MIKE NELSON, EPA-EFE

Inspector Eileen Wendt looks at a sign from the landlord that says the tenant did not pay rent and the locks have been changed preventing access to the Gila polling place in Chandler, Ariz. on Nov. 6, 2018. Cheryl Evans, The Arizona Republic via USA TODAY NETWORK

Workers scramble to set up a polling site after being locked out of the Gila polling site in Chandler, Ariz. on election day, Nov. 6, 2018 due to the tenants failure to pay rent. Cheryl Evans, The Arizona Republic via USA TODAY NETWORK

Dawn Crawford, long-time resident of Butler, Wisc. gives a thumbs up after casting her ballot as the first resident to vote at the Butler village hall on Nov. 6, 2018. For the past 10 years Crawford has been the first resident in line to vote. It has become somewhat of a competition and tradition between Crawford and some of her neighbors. Angela Peterson, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel via USA TODAY NETWORK

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and girlfriend Sandra Lee take a selfie with a voter as they prepare to vote at the Presbyterian Church of Mount Kisco on Nov. 6, 2018. Mark Vergari, The Journal News via USA TODAY NETWORK

Voters fill in ballots during the midterm elections at a polling station at the Presbyterian Church of Mount Kisco in Mt. Kisco, N.Y., on Nov. 6, 2018. Mark Vergari, The Journal News via USA TODAY Network

People were lined up when the doors opened at 6:30 a.m. for voting on Election Day at the Blue Ash Recreation Center in Blue Ash, Ohio, on Nov. 6, 2018. Liz Dufour, The Cincinnati Enquirer via USA TODAY Network

Voters arrive at the Tuttle Park Recreation Center polling location, Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018, in Columbus, Ohio. Across the country, voters headed to the polls Tuesday in one of the most high-profile midterm elections in years. John Minchillo, AP

David Spencer, left, and Tom Shaw check over voting machinery before voters arrive to cast their ballots in the 2018 midterm general election at Franklin School in Franklin Township, Ohio on Nov. 6, 2018. DAVID MAXWELL, EPA-EFE

Voters lined up in large numbers on Nov. 5, 2018, to make sure they could cast their vote early before the Vigo County Annex in Terre Haute, Ind. officially ends at noon. AUSTEN LEAKE, The Tribune-Star via AP

Tammy Versing and her dog Ben Ben provide water to voters at an early voting polling station at West Los Angeles College in Culver City, Calif. on Nov. 4, 2018. The midterm elections take place on 06 November. Voters waited hours in line to cast their ballots. Mike Nelson, EPA-EFE

A polling station worker helps voters at an early voting polling stations at West Los Angeles College, as hundreds of people waited hours in line to cast their ballots in Culver City, Calif. on Nov. 4, 2018. Mike Nelson, EPA-EFE

Voters line up to cast their ballots for early voting at the Johnson County Arts & Heritage Center Friday, Nov. 2, 2018, in Overland Park, Kan. Poll workers said turnout this election is way above average with about 22,000 early votes cast so far at this location. Charlie Riedel, AP

Voters wait in line at Boise City Hall in Boise, Idaho, to cast ballots in early voting Friday, Nov. 2, 2018. An unusually high number of Idahoans have voted early, and two high-profile ballot initiatives appear to be driving some of the turnout. Keith Ridler, AP

Michael Mah examines his ballot before filling it out at the Pittsfield, Mass., City Hall, on the last day of early voting in Massachusetts, Friday, Nov. 2, 2018. Ben Garver, The Berkshire Eagle via AP

Voters wait in a line to cast their ballots on the last day of early voting at the Green Hills Library in Nashville, Tenn. on Nov.1, 2018. More than one million voters went to the polls during the early voting period. It was an unusually high turnout for a midterm election because of a race between Democrat Phil Bredesen and Republican Marsha Blackburn for an open US Senate Seat that could determine the balance of power in the body. Rick Musacchio, EPA-EFE

In this Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2018 photo, students enter a polling place to cast their ballots during a Vote for Our Lives event at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Fla. Nine months after 17 classmates and teachers were gunned down at their Florida school, Parkland students are finally facing the moment they’ve been leading up to with marches, school walkouts and voter-registration events throughout the country: their first Election Day. John Raoux, AP

In this Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2018, photo, a voter drops off his ballot in Salt Lake City. If a Utah race is too close to call on election night a distinct possibility in the slugfest between Republican Rep. Mia Love and Democrat Ben McAdams residents and candidates will have to wait patiently because the state's deliberate vote release schedule recommends counties wait three days before posting more results. Rick Bowmer, AP

In this Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2018, photo, voters cast their votes in Salt Lake City. If a Utah race is too close to call on election night a distinct possibility in the slugfest between Republican Rep. Mia Love and Democrat Ben McAdams residents and candidates will have to wait patiently because the state's deliberate vote release schedule recommends counties wait three days before posting more results. Rick Bowmer, AP

In this Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2018, file photo, rejected mail in ballots sit in a box as members of the canvassing board verify signatures on ballots at the Miami-Dade County Elections Department, in Miami. Voters go to the polls in the midterm elections Nov. 6. Long lines, broken voting machines and poll worker confusion are all common at polling places across the country on Election Day. With more people voting early, some of these issues are already popping up in this year’s midterm election. Lynne Sladky, AP

People stand cast their ballots ahead of the Tuesday, Nov. 6, general election at Jim Miller Park, Saturday, Oct. 27, 2018, in Marietta, Ga. Less than two weeks before Election Day, early voting returns forecast a midterm election turnout not seen in decades, with Republicans and Democrats demonstrating engaged bases on each end of the political spectrum. Mike Stewart, AP

Voters stand in line for early voting ahead of the Nov. 6, General Election at Jim Miller Park, Saturday, Oct. 27, 2018, in Marietta, Ga. Less than two weeks before Election Day, early voting returns forecast a midterm election turnout not seen in decades, with Republicans and Democrats demonstrating engaged bases on each end of the political spectrum. Mike Stewart, AP

Iva Woke, a 100-year-old resident living in Chestertown, Md., takes her ballot to the voting booth as she is the first to enter the Kent County Public Library to vote in Maryland's early voting on Oct. 25, 2018. Jim Watson, AFP/Getty Images

In this Oct. 22, 2018, file photo, Megan Heckel of Plano holds her daughter Lily as they wait in line for early voting outside Maribelle M. Davis Library in Plano, Texas. Some Texas voters are complaining that while casting Democratic or Republican straight-ticket ballots, voting machines used in 80-plus counties changed their selections to the other party for key races, including the Senate contest between Ted Cruz and Beto O'Rourke. The Secretary of State's office says the problem is occurring on Hart eSlate machines, when voters submit ballots before their choice is fully rendered. It says the machines aren't malfunctioning and instead blames user error. David Koenig, AP

Voters wait in line for up to two hours to early vote at the Cobb County West Park Government Center on Oct. 18, 2018 in Marietta, Ga. Early voting started in Georgia on October 15th. Georgia's Gubernatorial election is a close race between Democratic candidate Stacey Abrams and Republican candidate Brian Kemp. Jessica McGowan, Getty Images